A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE SAN DIEGO SKEPTICS

By Ernie Ernissee


Our Goals

The goals of the San Diego Skeptics were spelled out in the first
issue of our newsletter, SANity. Among them were to: "identify and
maintain a network of skeptics in the greater San Diego area to
responsibly examine and challenge paranormal claims, generate public
debates, lectures, demonstrations, media events and competent
scientific evaluations of paranormal claims, provide a source of
accurate information for the local and national media on paranormal
claims."


How It Started

In the early eighties, I ran across a book by Carl Sagan entitled
Broca's Brain, a collection of essays on various subjects with the
emphasis on science.  The section titled "The Paradoxers" contained
explanations and answers to questions that had been troubling me for
years.  Sagan deftly debunks much of the pseudo science that was
rampant at the time: astrology, ancient astronauts, UFOs, the Bermuda
triangle, psychic spoon benders, etc.  I was delighted!  As a child of
the sixties, I was puzzled by these things but had only rarely come
across an explanation as to why, for example, astrology seemed to
work.  By what possible mechanism could the position of the planets at
the moment of one's birth affect personality?  Here was an antidote to
what ailed me.  At the end of the chapter, Sagan lists further sources
of critical evaluations of apparent supernatural phenomena.  The list
included The Skeptical Inquirer, the journal of the Committee for the
Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP).  I was
hooked.  I spent the next few nights in the library at UCSD devouring
back issues.  (Ed. note: The UCSD Library, regrettably cancelled its
subscription to the Skeptical Inquirer in 1987; it is now being
resumed.) 

By the mid eighties, many local groups had been formed including the
Bay Area Skeptics in northern California and the newest group called
the Southern California Skeptics in Los Angeles.  I attended a
convention in the bay area hoping to find others with idea of starting
a local group in San Diego.  It was at the convention that I first met
James "The Amazing" Randi.  I asked Randi why someone hadn't started a
group in San Diego.  Without hesitation, Randi said, "Because you
haven't started one yet.  Get busy."  I started corresponding with
CSICOP and the Southern California Skeptics in Los Angeles.  Kendrick
Fraiser, editor of The Skeptical Inquirer, put me in touch with Elie
Shneour, director of Biosystems Research Institute in La Jolla and one
of the early scientific consultants for CSICOP.  He had already
invested several years laying the ground work for a local group and
was looking for someone in the area to help get the project off the
ground.  We hit it off famously and thus was born the SAN DIEGO
SKEPTICS.  Our goals were spelled out in the first issue of our
newsletter, SANity.  Among them were to "identify and maintain a
network of skeptics in the greater San Diego area to responsibly
examine and challenge paranormal claims; generate public debates,
lectures, demonstrations, media events and competent scientific
evaluations of paranormal claims; provide a source of accurate
information for the local and national media on paranormal claims."


Our Triumphs

Our first public event was Randi's lecture "Science, Magic, and the
Paranormal" at UCSD's Peterson hall on March 8, 1986; it was an
unqualified success.  The formation of the SAN DIEGO SKEPTICS
coincided with Randi's investigation of faith healers.  Only the week
before, he and Paul Kurtz had determined the radio frequency that a
certain evangelist was using to get the "word from God" concerning the
medical condition of those who came to his "miracle healing services."
The faith healer used an ultra miniature receiver deep in his ear to
receive information from a surreptitious transmitter backstage.  For
several hours before the services began, his wife and several aides
walked among the crowd interviewing people and writing detailed
information about them on 3 by 5 cards.  During the service, he would
"miraculously" call out some sufferer's name and proceed to accurately
describe exactly the sufferer's illness, the doctor's name, and even
the address!  To the faithful, this was absolute proof that this man
had direct communication with the Almighty and that if any one could
help them with their disease it was him.  The purpose of this con was,
of course, to separate these folks from their money.  What the faith
healer didn't know was that Randi, disguised in a hideous fright wig
and Jerry Lewis buck teeth, was in the audience with a briefcase
containing the scanner and tape recorder we had purchased in La Jolla
the day after his lecture at UCSD.  Randi was listening to and
recording the secret radio transmissions.

Several months later, during the "Tonight Show "with Johnny Carson,
Randi played a portion of the healing service.  Then the same clip was
played with the addition of the intercepted audio track.  Thus the
country learned of the cruel deceptions of this so-called man of God.
For the next few days, we happily watched the faith healer try
unsuccessfully to come up with an explanation.  He failed and, a few
months later, declared bankruptcy.  

With the success of this event, the local media started contacting us
and inviting Elie and myself to appear on various news and talk
shows. One of our favorite gigs was Stacey Taylor's radio talk show
then on KSDO.  He is a very bright guy with an acerbic wit that
occasionally goes over the head of some hapless caller who doesn't yet
"get it."  We had a regular segment on the Friday before our scheduled
monthly lectures and fielded calls from everyone from true believers
to bitter cynics.  The idea was to publicize the lecture hoping to get
more of the general public to attend but much of the time we ended up
preaching to the choir.


Our Disappointment

Although we were having some success, our sister group in Los Angeles,
the Southern California Skeptics, was truly a shining star in the
galaxy of local groups.  This group was getting national attention
with such events as the fire walking demonstration at CalTech later
shown on the Tonight Show.  Their regular lectures were drawing
several hundred people every month.  A decision was made to pool our
resources and so the SAN DIEGO SKEPTICS merged with the Southern
California Skeptics.  

Elie Shneour went on to become the President of the Southern
California Skeptics and I was designated the San Diego Coordinator.
Unlike SCS which had Baxter Lecture hall at CalTech, our group to the
sourth was never able to provide a regular meeting place so that
people could find us.  Without this, attendance at the lectures
dwindled and financial support dried up.  Even with personal donations
from Elie and myself and a small group of dedicated volunteers, we
just couldn't sustain the program.  For a short time Elie was able to
continue the CalTech lecture series, but it too ran out of steam.  SCS
went out of business and with it went our struggle against the forces
of irrationality.


The Future

But now comes the San Diego Association for Rational Inquiry.  The
quality of people attending the first meetings gives me renewed hope
that the noble battle against the new (dark) age will begin again.
Experience is a very valuable resource.  I hope that the things that I
learned in my past efforts will be of help in our new organization.
For example, many people of diverse talents must be involved in
running the organization.  Not only does this insure that the
organization will be lively, it prevents exhausting the good will of
participants through overwork.


----------------

Ernie Ernissee was Executive Director of the former SAN DIEGO SKEPTICS
and is a Vice President of the San Diego Association for Rational
Inquiry.  (email address: doubleecad@aol.com).

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